


hopelessly devoted | a. arlert

by it_wasntme



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Aquariums, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Death, During Canon, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Libraries, M/M, Reader-Insert, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:07:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29383209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/it_wasntme/pseuds/it_wasntme
Summary: "𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙟𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜? 𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙄 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚?"Armin x ReaderArmin had gotten out. He had seen the ocean, other people, exotic animals. But life never stood still. He often thought back to when it did, when the two of you would sit on the beach. When you'd tell him of the limitless universe and countless galaxies.Armin thought a lot. And now that you couldn't be with him, he realized that you were the true treasure outside of the walls.✧❅✦❅✧OR:✧❅✦❅✧In which you work at the Marley aquarium and become acquainted with a new, frequent visitor.*aot and all its characters belong to isayama hajime, i only own the plot and ocs*
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Reader, Reiner Braun & Reader
Kudos: 23





	1. -preview-

You lean back, not seeming to care if sand got down your shirt. Armin stays sitting up, his hair slightly blowing in the wind.

You reach up and pull on his shoulder, trying to get him to lay down too. He takes the hint and cautiously lays down, not wanting to bump you.

You reach an arm up, pointing to a star that's brighter than the rest. "That's Mars, Armin. It's not a star, but Earth is lined up so that it looks like one."

Armin squints, trying to pinpoint which glowing spot you're looking at. When he finds it he smiles, glad that he learned something new.

"If we can see Mars from here, could we see another planet if we were on the other side of Earth?" His voice is quiet, barely audible over the crashing of the waves.

You hum, trying to remember. "I'm not sure...it's a good question though. We can always go to the library tomorrow and find out,"

Armin turns his head to look at you. Your eyes are closed and there's sand up your arm and hand. Your yellow polished nails almost blend in with the sand, save for the black smiley faces that are polished on them.

"How many planets are there, again? I always forget..."

You peek one eye open at him and smile. "Eight, including the one we're on. But there are countless planets and stars in other galaxies,"

"Galaxies...?"

You nod. "A system of stars, planets, dust, and other space stuff. We live in the Milky Way, but there are millions of other galaxies with other planets and stars."

Armin flips on his side, looking at you straight on. "I'd like to travel to another galaxy...We could go together,"

You feel your face heat up and can't help but grin. "That'd be nice, Armin...that'd be nice."

\---

In which you're a burnt out child prodigy who meets someone that helps bring your spark back.

\---

warnings:

language, canon-typical violence, death


	2. i

The hallways are glass paned, giving a clear view to the water filled tanks. Armin sighs, looking around at all of the different species, so foreign compared to anything he had seen back on Paradis.

Everything is dark blue. The flooring, the railing on the stairways, the small benches in front of each tank, even the lights are a tinted sapphire. Everything.

Armin takes a seat at one of the cushioned benches in front of the coral reef exhibit. There are small seahorses flitting around in the water, weaving in between black and white striped fish. He reads each of the information panels at least twice before taking the time to observe the animals, he wants to know everything he can before he awes at them.

But then he sees you from the corner of his eye. You're the only thing that isn't all dark blue. After trying to figure out what color your clothes are without the colored lighting, Armin comes to this conclusion: Your shirt was colored with pink and orange stripes, your shoes a dark gray (Armin can't tell if that's what color they always are or if they're just dirty) and your shorts are black. Even from ten feet away Armin can see the bright colors that adorn your nails, alternating between a lime green and vibrant purple.

You almost burn his eyes, reminding him of the spots that show up when you rub your eyes too harshly. Too bright for a mellow place such as this.

If he squints his eyes, he can see a little white tag on your shirt. He can't read what it says, but he can only assume it's your name and Armin concludes that you work here. In the few days that Armin has visited, he can't remember seeing you. While he had heard that the aquarium was fairly new, he knew it had to have been open for at least a year, giving them more than enough time to fill all the positions with how the Marleyan job market was doing. So when had you showed up?

You have a smile on your face and Armin turns his head to see what had gotten you so happy. Just across from the coral exhibit where he was sitting was an archway, leading to the bigger sea animals. If he remembered correctly, there were small hermit crab tanks built into the walls of the arch.

"Hello, Lillian! Is your arm growing back okay?" He hears you say. You're talking a bit loud, but not enough for anyone to complain to you to be quieter. Just teetering on the edge of respectful and obnoxious.

You reach in the tank, presumably to check on 'Lillian' before walking away, without another word. Armin watches as your striped shirt gets smaller and smaller, his eyes strained from the blue lighting.

He turns his head back to the coral reef, watching as two seahorses swim around, looking as if they were chasing each other. Armin decided that he'd come back to the aquarium soon, if not to see you, to see the sharks next.


	3. Chapter 3

At first he thinks that the tinted lights are playing tricks with his eyes, making him see things. But Armin knows that there's no way he's imagining the bright yellow armband that the man in front of you is wearing.

The man is easily six feet, with blonde hair, and he's well built. Armin sinks lower into his seat, glancing at the two of you out the corner of his eye. _'Is that...Reiner?'_

A woman walks up next to the man, linking her pinky finger with his. Her clothes look expensive and even with her left side being blocked by the man, Armin can see that she's not wearing an armband.

_'If that is Reiner, why is he outside of the internment zone?'_

You shake hands with the woman, both of you wearing the most polite smiles Armin thinks he's ever seen. Armin stays in his seat in front of the coral reefs for what feels like an hour as you talk to the two people in front of you, all hushed conversation and small laughs in between.

When you start walking them to the exit, Armin's eyes follow you, trying to get a better glimpse at the man's face. It's when you look over your shoulder, locking eyes with Armin for a split second does he look away, feeling his face heat up.

At least Armin had an official reason to hang around the aquarium now. If Levi asked, it wasn't so he could observe you. It was because someone who looked like Reiner showed up... _obviously_.


End file.
